With Fox agreeing to a new long-term MLB TV deal, announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver might get to call the World Series through 2021. / Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

While he's "not tired of the game," Fox lead baseball analyst Tim McCarver says, "it's time to cut back."

So starting his 18th season with game announcer Joe Buck, McCarver on Wednesday said he informed Fox in February that he wouldn't seek a new contract after his current deal ends after this season.

"I want to take cooking classes in Italy," said McCarver, who spoke on a conference call from his home in Napa, Calif.

"And I love to read, although I know reading gets old after a while."

"How about painting?" joked Buck.

"I'm not a painter," McCarver responded.

McCarver says he thought for the last two years about not seeking a new contract and finalized his decision in February.

"I wanted to step down while I could still do the job," McCarver says. "It's not a tough call, it's not a sad thing for me. ... But I'm going to miss Joe Buck a lot."

After 34 years in TV broadcast booths, McCarver isn't sure if he wants or will be offered a role on the upcoming Fox Sports 1 cable channel. "There's no plan in place right now. I just don't know," he said. "I don't want to speculate."

Fox has left open the possibility of using McCarver on the new channel, which debuts Aug. 17. "We'll continue to do what we can to fit in his schedule," says Fox Sports co-president Eric Shanks, who added he has a "man crush" on McCarver.

"This is weird," Buck says. "I was probably (on Fox MLB at 27) before I was ready but got through it because of Tim. ... He's someone I treasure as a great teammate."

Buck also said "TV booths are filled with guys worried if the other guy has got your back. It's the complete opposite with the two of us. ... We've never had a cross word or looked at each other sideways.

"I don't want to do these games without Tim. But I respect his decision to step aside."

Buck, referring to his late father, Jack Buck, who was an iconic broadcaster, said of McCarver: "He's every bit as important to me as my dad."

McCarver played in the majors from 1959 to 1980, primarily as a catcher and primarily with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.

Buck recalled pulling a prank at a restaurant when he first started working with McCarver, saying that "he was the 800-pound gorilla and he's working with Jack Buck's son." Buck put a lobster claw, as a joke, in a producer's jacket , but instead it turned out he had mistakenly put it in McCarver's jacket -- who laughed it off.

Said Buck, laughing: "We made it past that little incident."

On the call, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig complimented McCarver as a "symbol of class" with "remarkable composure."

Fox Sports founder David Hill, now a senior executive vice president at Fox parent News Corp., calls McCarver "one of the best broadcasters he's worked with or listened to. ... He's one of those unique individuals that makes you proud to be in the profession."

Former Fox Sports president Ed Goren praised McCarver for "always being ready to share an expensive bottle of wine."

And Hill said Fox wasn't forcing McCarver out: "It's his call, and we love him to bits."

McCarver said his retirement has nothing to do with health issues.

"I just thought it was appropriate to make this my last year," he said. "It's really that simple. I plan on living a very long life. ... I know it's the right thing to do. There's not a bit of doubt in my mind."